So..... Jean Simmons is the star of the month on TCM... and I really wished I liked her. I watched two movies with her the other night... just to give her a fair chance, but alas... I am still not a Simmons fan.It started off with her in a movie with the adorable Dirk Bogarde called So Long at the Fair followed by Adam and Evelalyn. Her performances weren't bad or anything. In fact I find her acting honest and quite believable... my issue lies in the tenor of her voice... The woman has the most annoying, nasal, 5 year old girl voice. I just have such a hard time getting past it.
I know... totally shallow of me. I feel almost guilty about that assessment. I can't help it. I re watched Guys and Dolls later, another Simmons staple. I have always loved G&D, the ensemble works so well. Brando and Sinatra might not have been the best of buds, but the two of them in the same movie is absolute perfection for me. Brando has such wonderful suave and Sinatra is always so charming. Simmons is okay. I love her songs (not her voice) but her character is so sweet and well played. I was sitting there watching and wishing that Simmon's just sounded different some how.
She was a great actress, a sweet woman and from everything I've seen, a real down to Earth individual. But for the sake of my sanity... I will have to keep watching her films to a minimum.
** On the up side... that Dirk Bogarde is so cute! **
Well you are better than I am, as I gave up on "So Long at the Fair" after about 25 minutes. (When it was on TCM a year or so ago.) I just couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not classic-era, but Jean Simmons played Patrick Swayze's mother in the TV mini-series North and South. That was on in the 80's, so she must have been in her 60's I guess. She aged gracefully and beautifully. You might liker her in that.